The Fatal Gift of Beauty

Clear-eyed, sweeping, honest and tough, Nina Burleigh's autopsy of one of the most compelling criminal dramas of our time sets a standard that any of the other other chroniclers of this tale have yet to meet. The story of Amanda Knox is part Salem witch trial, part cultural misunderstanding of an epic sort, and part vendetta. Burleigh found the universal elements of a junior year abroad that shook the world, and she brings them home without sentimentality nor an axe to grind. This is what long-form narrative journalism is all about. --Tim Egan, author of <i>The Worst Hard Time</i> THE FATAL GIFT OF BEAUTYis the real, the true, and the complete story of the Amanda Knox case. It will draw you into a nightmare world of murder, conspiracy, corruption, false accusations, police incompetence, abuse, lies, and manipulations.Nina Burleigh is a first-rate journalist who presents a meticulously researched and reported account, with every fact documented and sourced. It is an essential read for anyone interested in this case. More than a murder story, is a look into the dark and complex soul of Italy itself. --Douglas Preston, co-author of<i> The Monster of Florence</i> Finally, the twisted tale of Amanda Knox, the all-American college girl convicted of murder in Italy, gets the telling this extraordinary story deserves. Nina Burleigh's immersion in Italian cultural history provides a context that allows us--first the first time--to understand how this international miscarriage of justice could have occurred. Stirring, compelling, and in the end a tragic tale worthy of Italian opera. --Joe McGinniss, author of <i>Fatal Vision, The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro</i> and <i>The Rogue</i> The global media, in its frenzied coverage of the sensational Amanda Knox murder trial, overlooked what Nina Burleigh has skillfully unearthed and analyzed--a compelling chain of evidence, subtle levels of significance. Her telling of the tale is clearly the only one that gets it right. --John Berendt, author of <i>The City of Falling Angels </i>and <i>Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil</i> A fascinating book about a beautiful American girl in Italy and how she was prosecuted for a murder she may not have committed. It is also a study in sexism and criminal law--especially in Italy. Horrifyingly readable. -- Erica Jong Nina Burleigh has cut through the confusion of conflicting and often inaccurate news accounts of the Amanda Knox murder case and given us a lucid, fair-minded account of the case. She shows, quite convincingly, that Knox and her co-defendant have been victims of a serious miscarriage of justice. Perhaps more importantly, she explains why, showing the case to be the product of cultural misunderstanding between Italy and the U.S. --Alexander Stille, author of <i>The Sack of Rome [In] this powerful example of narrative non-fiction...Burleigh, who parses how the Knox trial was perhaps tainted, still presents a fair and unbiased portrait of a girl adrift in a foreign legal system and a culture rife with preconceptions about young American women. <i>Publishers Weekly</i>, Starred Review Burleigh s propulsive narrative and the many unsettling aspects of the case make this a standout among recent true-crime titles. <i>Kirkus Reviews Journalist/author Burleigh (e.g., <i>Unholy Business)</i> reconstructs a murder case that has proved to be about much more than murder. <i>Library Journal A fascinating book about a beautiful American girl in Italy and how she was prosecuted for a murder she may not have committed. It is also a study in sexism and criminal law--especially in Italy. Horrifyingly readable. --Erica Jong, author of <i>Fear of Flying Savvy true-crime reporting combined with a headline-hogging murder trial. <i>Booklist</i>